A woman was arrested for not returning two library books to the Grafton Library–White Oleander and Angels and Demons. I understand the library wanting their books back, but that sounds a little extreme to me.
The woman, Heidi Dalibor, ignored four library notices, two phone calls and two letters, and the Grafton Library then turned the case over to the police. Heidi Dalibor then ignored the court date–and when she did, the police arrested her. Heidi paid her $170 fine and was released, but STILL doesn’t intend to return the books because, she says, “they’re paid for.”
I started to lose a little sympathy, hearing that, but I still think arresting the woman for not returning two library books was overkill. What do you think?
You can watch the video here.
Thanks to Neatorama for the link.
Have you ever forgotten to return a library book? For a really long time? And you’ve kinda, sorta ignored the late notices from the library? Beware. Unreturned library books and late fees are so common, that many libraries now use the services of collection agencies. That means that your late fees can actually be reported to a credit bureau adversely affecting your credit score. Even if you return the book, but don’t pay the fines, you can find yourself in trouble for a relatively small amount of money.
This “punishment” may sound a bit far fetched, but library books are actually loans. Libraries all over the US are working on very limited budgets these days. And they lose a large volume of books to borrowers who never return the goods. Plus, when you are late returning books, there is likely a disappointed reader out there missing out on reading that book.
So next time you borrow a book, mark the due date on your calendar at home and make a real effort to return it on time. The next time you are checking out a book, ask if there are any outstanding fines on your account, and pay them. You’ll feel good about yourself, and you’ll be doing the right thing.
Well, we are like Scheherazade in that we've told 1,001 stories here at It's All Good since our first post on May 20, 2004. Although, as far as I know, none of us will be executed if we stop telling stories--but I could be wrong.
It's fitting that our newest IAGer, Chrystie, made the 1,001 post.
If we posted all the stories we come across, we would be way way over this number--Alice and I seem to exchange at least two emails a week bemoaning the number of items we would like to blog about and don't find the time to, amidst all the other things we have to do.
So, perhaps a brain scan that can read my intentions and then make words based on what I planned to blog about will help get more things out of my head and into IAG.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany, and University College London and Oxford University in England, have apparently developed a technique for doing at least the first part of this--looking inside peoples' brains and reading their intentions before they act, according to this article published in The Guardian Online today.
Very "future-y" and Minority Reportish. Maybe public libraries that charge fines for overdue materials can recoup money earlier in the process--say, before the material is even borrowed--by scanning the brains of borrowers and fining those who clearly have the intention of returning stuff late.
Happy Friday.
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aren't we fancy? :) i am honored to have made the 1001st post!
What makes an ingredient natural? More and more leading make-up companies are responding to the demands of today's educated market and offering their customers make-up containing natural and organic ingredients. Women - and more and more men - are realizing the benefits of leaving behind the man-made ingredients used in cheaper cosmetics and looking for the quality and results that come from natural make up. Cosmetics that have been made using quality ingredients - natural products close to the original state, and, whenever possible, organic certified.
Fair Trade Coffee is an organization that protects the laborers who work hard to bring you great coffee. Fair Trade Coffee
is produced a bit differently from regular beans, but still ensures that the beans are of the highest caliber.
In the United States people drink a lot of coffee, from cappuccino to espresso. Most people couldn't face a day without
their morning cup, but most people have no clue how coffee is made. Fair Trade Coffee helps bring information on this
process to the many coffee drinkers in the U.S.
Here's how to make delicious chocolate covered strawberries. First of all ensure that the strawberries you are intending to use are dry, then allow them to be room temperature warm prior to making them. After the strawberries have been covered in chocolate, put them in your refrigerator to cool, but do not store them in the fridge. Consume within 1-2 days.
Are you in search of a good amplifier? Then I would suggest you check out the JL car audio 500/1 amplifier. This amplifier is very efficient and will give little, if any, reason to worry. Here is something more about this product.
It is a class D amplifier. What does this mean? It means that it belongs to the class of highly efficient amplifiers that are up to 90% power efficient. This is a great advantage as it means your battery will not be easily run down. It makes the most efficient use of power when compared to other amplifier classes. And for your car, this is an invaluable feature.
This amplifier features a 12 inch polymer-coated subwoofer and a 12 inch polymer-coated passive radiator. These two are responsible for providing ample bass.
Since ages, chocolate is loved by all people due to its special taste. Many experts have noted that chocolates are unhealthy and continuous eating often results in tooth decay. Some medical experts have stated that chocolates contain sugar substances and thus add calories to the body and increase the sugar levels in the blood. But, it has been recently found that chocolates are good for our health as they have a lot of advantages. Chocolates contain antioxidants. Therefore they kill the free radicals and obstruct the oxidization of lipids into our body. The antioxidants are a concentrated form of flavonoids.
A few years ago, it was difficult to find synthetic motor oils, and equally difficult to find someone who admitted to using them. Nowadays, however, you can find synthetic motor oils on the shelves of Wal-Mart, and other retailers, and the number of people turning to synthetic motor oils, particularly in light of the recent events affecting fuel prices, has risen greatly.
So why do people use synthetic motor oils rather than sticking with the old petroleum based stand-bys which are admittedly cheaper?
1. Let's start with the cost per quart issue. Synthetic motor oils ARE more expensive at purchase. However, these oils last longer, requiring fewer oil changes. As a synthetic motor oil outlasts several changes of petroleum based lubricants, the ultimate out-of-pocket cost of the lubricant is less. This cost savings becomes even greater if you have someone else change your oil for you rather than doing it yourself!
The history of perfume goes back to Egypt, although it was prevalent in East Asia as well. Early perfumes were based on incense, not chemicals, so aromas were passed around through fumes. The Roman and Islamic cultures further refined the harvesting and manufacturing of perfumery processes to include other aromatic ingredients.
Thus, the ancient Islamic culture marked the history of modern perfumery with the introduction of spices and herbs. Fragrances and other exotic substances, such as Jasmine and Citruses, were adapted to be harvested in climates outside of their indigenous Asia.
Brew low cost beer. The amount of time you spend on brewing beer makes the small difference in cost between "just OK"
ingredients and top quality ingredients a minor point. Either way, the cost of brewing a 5 gallon batch is much cheaper
than buying a couple of cases of beer in the store.
Beer is made of cheap ingredients, so it doesn't hurt to buy the best. Surprisingly, the cheapest way to brew beer gives
you the best results: all grain brewing is the cheapest way to brew when grain is bought in bulk.
You do need a grain mill and a mash tun, so there is a small investment in equipment needed. But you should be able to brew
excellent quality beer for less than $2 per gallon, and you could brew a mild ale for as little as $1 per gallon, or less
than 10 cents per bottle (one gallon is about 10-1/2 12oz bottles). Most of my pilsners are about $1.50 a gallon brews.
Other ways to reduce the cost of your beer are by growing your own hops and reusing yeast from the fermenter. Easy to do,
and it means that I don't have to buy yeast more than once every half year or so. The hops should last e through most of
the winter brews. So all you need is grain, which is about $0.70 per pound in a bulk purchase (much of the cost is in
shipping).
Beer Brewing Equipment Basic, simple, cheap equipment that gets the job done. Sometimes it adds to the challenge. But
through the mystique of brewing and remember that illiterate alewives brewed for centuries using tried and true recipes and
procedures before the dawn of kegerators, ph meters or hydrometers.
Beer Keg Brewing. After using bottles for years, you can jump to the corny keg (Cornelius keg). This is an important step
because it makes brewing so much easier. You can still bottle, but just a few bottles per batch, and use a corny keg to
fill the bottles. You can use corny kegs as secondary fermenting vessels. You can try out method where you leave the beer
in the primary for about two weeks until it clears nicely, and then upi carefully siphon it over to a corny, avoiding
transferring any trub.